Why You’re Not Lazy (or Broken) — It’s Just Resistance
You know what you need to do.
You’ve read the books. Saved the quotes. Set up your to-do list.
But still… nothing.
You’re still not doing it. Why?
One word. One tiny concept.
Resistance.
Let’s talk about what it is, why it messes with our heads, and how you can finally stop feeling like there’s something wrong with you - and start doing the things you actually want to do with your life.
We’re all walking around with more than one voice in our heads.
For the purposes of this post, let’s call them:
The higher-purpose brain
The prehistoric brain
Your higher-purpose brain is the part of you that dreams big. It wants to write a book, join a book club (yes, those two are mine), start a business (same), or climb Everest (…definitely not mine).
This part of your mind is the birthplace of every invention, every bold move, every next step, all of humankind’s biggest and even many of our smallest achievements.
Without it, we’d still be in caves, cooking mammoth on sticks and wearing fox fur bikinis. If films like One Million Years B.C. are to be believed, anyway. 👙
But then… there’s your prehistoric brain.
Its sole job? To keep you alive long enough to pass on your genes.
So every time you contemplate something new, exciting, or slightly risky - this part of your brain goes into overdrive. It whispers doubts. It spins up anxiety. And if that doesn’t work? It slams the big red PANIC button 🔴 and floods your body with stress hormones in a desperate attempt to get you to scuttle back to the safety of your sofa and the dulling effects of the latest Netflix series.
That’s why your hands shake and your heart races when your boss says, “Got a minute?”
Or why one nasty Instagram comment from a total stranger you’ll never even meet IRL can send you spiralling.
Your prehistoric brain is still acting like it’s 30,000 BC.
And this is why so many “standard” self-help tools fall short.
You can write a pros/cons list till the cows come home, but it’s not going to reassure a scared inner cave-person.
Worse still, your inner critic then piles on next - layering shame and guilt on top.
“Why can’t I just DO the thing? What’s wrong with me?”
Answer: absolutely nothing.
This is just what Resistance (with a capital R, as Steven Pressfield, the author of The Legend of Bagger Vance, and several brilliant self-help books, would say) looks like.
It’s a constant mental tug-of-war:
One side pulling toward change, growth, progress
The other gripping tightly to comfort, certainty, and perceived “safety”
The problem?
While this argument stays swirling in your head, it’s like watching an endless tennis match. Exhausting. Confusing. Headache-inducing. And it’s getting you no closer to clarity or change.
But getting it down on paper? Game-changer.
Once you see all the arguments side-by-side - the logic, the fears, the stories - things start to shift.
Some of them just won’t hold up.
Some will sound like echoes from people who’re long gone (hello, Mum, miss you (sometimes) 💔).
Some will be pure nonsense your brain has been telling you (and you’ve been swallowing) for years.
Some are bullshit that society feeds you to keep you small. 💩
You’ll start to notice what’s really fear in disguise.
You’ll start to see which reasons are heavier.
And eventually, with this inspection and analysis… the balance tips in your favour.
A Quick Journalling Exercise
Grab a pad and pen (or your favourite notes app), and answer honestly:
What’s one thing you’ve been avoiding?
What feels emotionally heavy about that? What’s holding you back?
What’s on the other side - and what would change if you took action?
What benefits would you gain from doing the thing?
Want Some Help With This?
So if resistance has been showing up like a loud little gremlin in your head lately - talking you out of doing the things you actually want to do - I’ve made something for you.
It’s called The Resistance Decoder, and it’s a short, practical PDF full of ideas to help you get unstuck and moving again. No shame. No nonsense. Just real strategies that work (and that I use myself, often while muttering under my breath).
👉 Grab your free copy here and let’s start getting past the stuck.
Great post and really resonated just what I needed to read on a Monday morning, thanks so much for sharing look forward to your next post